Episode 4908 (11th October 2000)
Plot Curly, Alma, Fred, Ashley, Ken and Mike are trapped inside Freshco's with assistant Wendy Jones and retiring security guard Frank O'Connor. Curly explains that all the money is in the safe and that won't open until the morning. Dean Sykes holds Curly at knifepoint and demands he opens the safe, but terrified Curly convinces him its on a time delay. Hearing there's £20,000 in the safe, Dean and Lenny Larkin decide to sit it out all night with their hostages. Angry Mike mouths off at the robbers, demanding they let them go. Ken tries a calmer approach, talking kindly to them. Dean is annoyed by them both so locks them up together in a storeroom. Alma tries to cheer up depressed Frank who blames himself for the robbery. She is flattered when he reveals he's always had a soft spot for her. Ken and Mike bicker with each other, with Mike telling Ken that Deirdre only stayed with him because she felt sorry for him. Mike tells him that he'll always be a loser. The hostages talk Dean into letting them cook a barbecue. Mike tells Ken that they both know Deirdre made do with second best when she stuck with him. Mike gets angry when Ken throws his affair with Julia Stone in his face. Ashley manages to phone Maxine and raise the alarm before being hit on the head by Dean. The smoke from the barbecue sets the fire alarm off. Dean forces Curly to turn the alarm off but the system is connected to the fire brigade. Ken is alarmed when Mike suffers a heart attack. He forces him to stay calm and tries to relax him. Fearing he's going to die, Mike tells Ken to tell Linda he forgives her. When he recovers he and Ken acknowledge that they've been behaving like children. Dean forces Curly to lock the fire brigade out of the store when they attempt to enter. Alarmed Maxine rushes to Freshco's with Audrey. She sees the gunmen and alerts the fire officer who calls the police. Mike confides in Ken about Linda's affair with Mark. Ken advises him to get on with his marriage and forget the past. Dean and Lenny are scared when the police arrive. The building is surrounded. Dean demands £100,000 in exchange for the hostages. Linda and Deirdre hear about the Freshco siege and rush to the store. When Dean starts to cry, Curly comforts him and nearly succeeds in taking the gun off him but the police storm in. Dean fires the gun so Emma, in combat uniform, shoots him. Cast Regular cast *Ashley Peacock - Steven Arnold *Mike Baldwin - Johnny Briggs *Fred Elliott - John Savident *Ken Barlow - William Roache *Curly Watts - Kevin Kennedy *Alma Halliwell - Amanda Barrie *Linda Baldwin - Jacqueline Pirie *Audrey Roberts - Sue Nicholls *Maxine Peacock - Tracy Shaw *Geena Gregory - Jennifer James *Vikram Desai - Chris Bisson *Deirdre Rachid - Anne Kirkbride *Emma Taylor - Angela Lonsdale Guest cast *Dean Sykes - Ciaran Griffiths *Frank O'Connor - Eamon Boland *Wendy Jones - Michelle Totton *Lenny Larkin - David Derbyshire (Credited as "David Darbyshire") *Fire Officer - Peter Foster *PC Henshaw - Darren Johnson *Superintendent Jevons - David Fleeshman *Josh Cunningham - David Prosho *AFO - Joe O'Byrne *Paul Reece - Dorian MacDonald Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public *Freshco - Shop floor, manager's office, storeroom and exterior Notes *Steve Tomkow was credited for Special Effects on this episode. *This hour-long episode was transmitted at 10.00pm. *''TV Times'' synopsis: The Freshco siege ends in tragedy, and Mike and Ken form an unlikely truce. *Viewing Figures: UK broadcast - 14,030,000 viewers (9th place - combined figure including repeat). Category:Extended episodes Category:2000 episodes Category:Episodes outside of broadcast patterns